Of Espionage
by ChiSoxBoy
Summary: When information about an old artifact is revealed, things begin happening in the lives of two unsuspecting characters
1. Chapter 1

The door of The Roost swung open and a young dog in his twenties strolled over to the bar. Brewster stood behind the counter cleaning out one of his many glasses and eyed the cat as he sat down on a stool.

"Good to see you, B." the dog smiled as he took his hat off.

"Well, well," Brewster chuckled as he recognized the dog, his thick city accent as present as it had ever been. "Didn't think I'd ever see you again."

"How's the place holdin' up?"

"It's good, Copper, it's real good. How's your uh..."

"Fine." Copper replied, stretching his shoulder.

Brewster nodded.

"What can I get you?" Brewster asked as he slung the tower over his shoulder. "Anything - it's on the house."

Copper thought for a few seconds and finally said, "Some hot chocolate would be great."

Brewster smiled "Of course. Comin' up!"

Copper had grown up in this town. As a pup he spent a lot of time in the museum studying whatever he could find. Artifacts, paintings, fossils, you name it and he could tell you about it. He grew up in a rough household and the only place he could go to get away from it was the museum. Brewster's coffee house, even within the museum, had been a local attraction for as long as Copper could remember. People from all over the place spoke of Brewster's coffee. Copper would spend hours in there - often past closing - pouring over his notebooks while sipping hot chocolate. Brewster, or B as most people called him, would let him stay as long as he stacked the chairs when they needed to be stacked.

"Here you go, bud." Brewster said as he set a steaming cup of hot chocolate on the counter. "I even remembered the extra cream."

Copper laughed. "It's good to be back."

"Come! Sit down, lets catch up. Things are starting to wind down anyway."

The two walked over to a table and sat. The place was just as Copper remembered. Piano on the stage in the corner, a few booths lining the walls, some regular old tables in the middle. It was perfect. "What have you been up to?" Brewster asked.

"Well, believe it or not, I'm doing a lot of work with the FBI nowadays."

"You don't say!"

"I just did say!"

Copper took a sip of the hot chocolate as they both laughed. "Mmm," he voiced. "Great as always." Brewster nodded his thanks. "Yes, I'm sort of... freelancing... with them. A consultant."

"Specializing in...?"

"What do you think?"

"Missing artifacts?"

"You got it. Something I've always been passionate about."

"That you have."

"Hey," Copper said, leaning in. "You don't have that piano bench anymore do you? The one that you had when I was little?"

Brewster ran his wing along his crest and sighed. "Actually, it might be in the back. Why?"

Copper looked around cautiously before replying, "Cuz there's something in it that I need."


	2. Chapter 2

There were boxes piled high, stacks of newspapers, dust bunnies, everything you'd expect in a typical store room. Brewster moved things around searching for his old piano bench. It had worn almost completely through, had some rotting legs, and was just time to leave. Brewster figured it had been around so long that he should keep it just for old-time's sake.

"I know it's back here somewhere. I didn't put it away too long ago..." he said as he wiped his forehead. "What's in there?"

Copper smirked, "You'll see."

Brewster stared at him blankly before slowly nodding. "Alright, alright... I trust you." There was still a skeptical look in his eyes as he turned away but he continued working.

Copper pushed a couple stacks of boxes away before he got to a stack that just wouldn't move. As he went to wrap his paw around one of the boxes to tug on it he felt a sting. A sliver. "I found it..." he muttered.

"Good!"

The two set the frail cardboard boxes aside and there it was. Worn through where the pianist or musician would sit, rotten in the legs just like Brewster had said. Copper smiled as he remembered sitting in The Roost listening to the musical stylings of Totakeke. "Does K.K. ever stop in anymore?" Copper asked as he sat down next to the bench.

"He hasn't been here in a while. Changed his name to K.K. Slider and got pretty big in the area. He'll walk in with a guitar every now and then to introduce some new music but he isn't a regular like he used to be."

"At least he's getting noticed. He was good."

"He was." Brewster agreed. "So, what were you looking for?"

Copper stood up and leaned on the bench, the wood creaking under his weight. He lifted the top off the bench and exposed the storage compartment where music books were kept. There were still a few books in there, filled with dust after years of going unused. Copper opened one of the books and flipped through the pages.

"Looking for something?"

"Yeah... a couple pages from one of my notebooks... I stuck them in here so I would never lose them. I don't remember which book I put them in, though."

He continued sifting through the pages of the books before he had looked through them all. After double checking he sighed and leaned against the wall. On those pages was some critical information regarding the origin of a statue. The "obviously uneducated amateur," as Copper described him, who determined the age of the statue was actually off by several decades. Copper had done extensive research on the artifact, spoke with a handful of experts, and was able to correctly age the statue as well as accurately appraise it. That information would cause an uproar among museum curators around the globe.

"I think Totakeke took some of the books with his favorite songs when he left to tour the city." Brewster said after a few moments of silence.

Copper's eyes shot up. "Where can I find him?"

"This stuff must be important."

"Crucial."

"Follow me to my office, we'll track him down." 


End file.
